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8/16/2011

Olivia's Snack Bag || Tutorial

This is a fun little project. These cute little snack bags help reduce waste by not using Ziploc bags. Plus, you will look uber chic pulling one of these out of your bag. :) They are perfect for kids or those long car rides we all dread. Bonus? You choose what size & color bag you want or need, and they are eco friendly. No more mass produced bags! Except I doubt you want to marinate your chicken in these.

Items Needed:

Prewashed Fabric : I cut out (8) 7" x 6.5" pieces of cotton fabric. 4 pieces per bag. Seam allowance is 1/4" (already included in dimensions). If you want your liner fabric to be different like mine, you will need 2 pieces of fabric for the outside and 2 pieces for the inside.*You can also use laminated cotton for wet items like sandwiches, or you can head on over to Chica and Jo, who use plastic bags.*

Follow instructions on your interfacing, and apply to one side of the liner. Apply another piece of interfacing onto the second piece of liner.

Step 2.

Place a 6" strip of Velcro (either the fuzzy piece or the hook piece) 1/2" from the top of your fabric, and pin it onto the right side of your fabric.

Stitch Velcro onto fabric. I stitched 3 rows to secure it tightly.

Step 3.

Place the liner right side up on your work surface. Velcro is at the top. Place your outside fabric face down lining up all the edges. Pin into place.

Sew 1/4 from the top. This attaches the liner to the outside fabric.

Step 4.

Open your seams and iron flat. Fold fabric over and iron again. In my experience, ironing can make all the difference. You get more professional results, so don't skip this step. Set fabric aside.

Repeat steps 1-4.

Step 5.

You will now need to join both liner pieces. Take your Velcros, and attach them together. Make sure they are straight and even. Pin the two liner pieces together. Your outside fabric pieces will be together on the opposite side.

Sew the three sides of the liners together. Do not sew the top edge with the Velcro.

Step 6.

Sew the 3 sides of the outside fabric together, BUT you will need to leave a 2 inch opening at the bottom. Make sure you sew your corners though. This hole will allow you to pull all your fabric right side out. Don't sew the edge that is joined to the liner. Basically, you are repeating step 5 but for the outside fabric instead.

Trim off excess seam allowance. Do not cut your stitches! Cut off your corners at an angle to reduce bulk.

Step 7.THE PHOTO ABOVE IS ONLY TO SHOW YOU THE HOLE AT THE BOTTOM OF MY BAG.
Your bag should be complete now with the exception of pulling out the fabric and stitching the hole.
You will now need to push your fabric through this hole, so everything will be right side out. Using a turner tool, you can poke at the bottom corners carefully to have a sharper edge. Otherwise, you corners will be rounded. I know people who have used various objects to help push out corners, if you do not have this tool.
Your options to close the hole are to slip stitch or sew the hole shut with a sewing machine. This will depend on your skill and the look you want. I am terrible at slip stitching, so I mostly use the machine because it is fast. My bags were done using the machine.

I love these!! I need like 10 of them! If only I knew how to sew....I'm hosting a party right now, & would love if you stopped by & linked up!http://formamas.blogspot.com/2011/08/show-tell-party-2.html

Absolutely fantastic!!! I love these!!! I am visiting from Tatertots & Jello and I am a new follower! I would love if you linked this up to my Delicately Constructed linky party tomorrow morning! Also, I am having a giveaway over at my blog and I would love if you would come enter!Hope to see you soon!Michellewww.delicateconstruction.blogspot.com

@Amy- No need for that if you are not putting anything wet or sticky in it. (Or unless you don't care about jam getting on your liner. It's just fabric, right? :)

@Cindy- You should prewash your fabric BEFORE starting the project. That way, there should be no issues with shrinkage. Bags will hold up great in the machine. Just make sure you securely attach your Velcro with several rows of stitches (I did 3), and if you want additional strength, shorten your stitch length for the entire project.

Thank you so much for this, found you on pinterest and just made 6 of these (3 with plastic liners...the fused grocery bags from the linky you posted...and 3 with just cloth liners). Can't wait for my daughter to use them for the first time tonight. She has a gluten and nut allergy, so she takes her snack to nursery every Sunday and Wednesday and I was tired of buying Ziplocks (so expensive and use em once and their done), so had to make these. Easiest tutorial ever and if I knew how to post pics of my finished product I would. You can look at them on facebook if you'd like http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3851164952020&set=a.3851162951970.161392.1065126109&type=1&theater Thanks again. :) So happy with the finished product and pretty proud of myself as well. :)

Turned out great. I am a novice sewer so Thank You for the concise tutorial. I used nylon for the liner because I couldn't get oil cloth and was a little nervous about melting plastic. Do you think nylon will hold up?

Great! That makes me happy to hear. I don't see why nylon wouldn't hold up, but I can't promise you anything. I would be curious to know down the road after lots of washing. My cotton ones are going strong. Did you look online for oil cloth? Thanks for the comment!

Thanks so much for this wonderful tutorial- I'm currently making a bunch as favors to hand out to guests at my little boy's 1st birthday & can't wait to see the reaction...from the Moms:) Also making some for Christmas gifts:) Will post info on my blog once completed. Super excited!

Just finished a set for my twin three year olds. My husband looked at them and said, "maybe you could make them with pull tabs". (he's always full of great ideas) So then I made another set with pull tabs. I used some ribbon that I had lying around and I sewed it to the top of the outer fabric before sewing everything together. It came out great! Thanks for the inspiration Nancy!

This is fantastic! I've been trying to find a pattern like this for a while now, thank you! You can also sew in the measuring tape that raft carpenters use instead of the velcro. It gives the top a little bit of a form and it's more of a snap (for lack of a better word...) together then a stick together. Thanks for posting!

Love these! In the process of trying to have another baby-yes I said process ;-) not there just yet. My only child now is 14 and I really wasn't into saving money and any of the diy's . I wanted something I could just pick up and go. But through my many years of seeing and searching for ways to save money I have learned lots of and plenty life savers. I will be making these while I'm out on Christmas break. I'm a school teacher on a budget. Thinking about a zipper for my bags. While I'm wishing myself luck with making these bags, making my own baby food when time comes and dealing with cloth diapers my pockets and accounts will b a lot heavier thanks to wonderful people like U. Thanks for the idea again!

i went to a nutrition class and learned a lot about not only nutrition but also how to store food and other food related things. one thing they taught is that you are not to reuse ziploc bags even if you wash them. they will cross contaminate other foods when you do. i like the idea of these bags, but would definately wash them in the washer and then put them in the dryer after each use so the kids won't get sick.

Hi Kirsten. The interfacing is what gives the bag its structure. See how in the styled photos the bags can stay open without falling flat? It's not necessary, but it provides the bag a little more structure. Hope that helps!